FX turning 'Star Trek'-inspired 'Redshirts' novel into limited series

A new "Star Trek" TV series might not be happening any time soon, but the next best thing is. FX has greenlit a limited series based on "Redshirts," a satirical science fiction novel written by John Scalzi published in 2012.

Down to its name, Scalzi has some obvious "Trek" origins. It follows a group of recruits on the Starship Intrepid who realize that members of the ship's crew are dying at a troublesome rate.

Eventually they discover that a 21st century sci-fi TV show somehow is influencing their reality by turning it into a narrative they can't control. "Redshirts" won the Hugo Award in 2013.

Currently the only people attached to the project are film producer Jon Shestack and producer-director Ken Kwapis. Deadline reports Kwapis is slated to direct the pilot episode of the series, while the search is underway for writers for the show.

Kwapis says of the novel, "If Jorge Luis Borges had been a staff writer on the original 'Star Trek,' he would no doubt have concocted a story like 'Redshirts.'"